Mastermind aka The Joys Of Children
by The Fiction Spider
Summary: Combine a challenge and a personal experience. What do you get? Well, this fic... Future Fic, HCR


**Title: Mastermind (a.k.a. The Joys Of Children) **

Author: The Fiction Spider  
**E-mail:** the underscore fiction underscore spider at hotmail dot com  
**id:** 450297  
**Summary:** Combine a challenge and a personal experience. What do you get? Well, this fic... (Future Fic, HCR)  
**Disclamer:** Unfortunately, it's not mine... none of it :s Well, except Caleb, Emily, Hamlet, Krista & Allen. Hmm, I kinda own a lot then :P  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor  
**Rating:** PG-13 'cause I used some swearing words..**  
Pairings:** H/C, duhuh, that was a condition.  
**Feedback:** Love to get it.**  
Archive:** Feel free to use my story anywere you want. Just please let me know. But, please, leave the story as intact as possible (feel free to improve/correct (I don't know if that's the right word) any spelling & grammar mistakes) & leave at least the disclamers & the autor name. TY.  
**A/N 1:** This fic is the result of a challenge I read on First & last sentence were given.  
**A/N 2:** Just one question: where do you guys find all the challenges, I mean, where do they come from…? I keep finding story's on the net, that are made as result of a challenge, but I can't seem to find the challenges themselfs..

OoOoOoOoO

**Calleigh balanced herself on the chair, trying to reach the top shelf.  
**  
She was standing on top of an office chair, trying to put the game 'Mastermind' back into her daughters closet. Cursing God for giving her short legs she stood on her toes, trying to fit it between 'Monopoly' and 'Twister'. Suddenly the chair moved, and all Calleigh could do was grab the shelf with both hands, trying not to fall and regain her balance. Of course, having to use both of her hand meant dropping 'Mastermind'. And during the sudden movement her elbow came in contact with a little box of beads, that lay/stood on the edge of the shelf below…

_**CRASH**_

"Shit!" Grumbling she step down of the chair and looked at the ravage that was ones her daughters tidy room. It looked like a bead-bomb exploded in there. Everywhere in the room were either little bead, 'Mastermind' pins, or both…

"Christ, this is gonna take hours to clean up." She muttered.

"Mom, is everything… What in the hell happened here!" Came a voice suddenly from the doorway.

"Caleb, language." Calleigh replied, turning to the doorway where her 11 year old son stood, with his eyes wide, staring at the mess.

"Sorry mom. But, eh.. what happened here?"

"I was trying to clean up your sisters room."

"You call this cleaning up?"

"Watch it young man. Now, go tell you sister to .. and keep Hamlet out of here. I don't want him to eat any beads..

"Okay" Caleb turned around and walked away. As he turned the corner Calleigh could here him yell "Em! Mom blew up your room, but she doesn't want you near it!"

"What!" Came from somewhere else in the house.

Sighing Calleigh closed the door and turned around. She, once again, looked at the mess and decided on a plan of action. She walked to the wall, picked up the phone and called an oh-so-familiar number. She hear it ring once.. twice..

"Alexx Woods."

"Hey Alexx, it's Calleigh."

"Hey honey, why are you calling me?"

"Well, I kinda need your help."

"With what?"

"Uhm.. I was trying to clean up Emily's room and I wanted to put this game back into her closet. But doing so I kinda lost my ballance and dropped the game and a box of beads..."

"You didn't" She could hear Alexx trying not to laugh, but failing miserably

"Yeah, I did. So now there are beads and pins everywhere. And I was wondering if you know any fast way to clean it up?"  
"In fact, I do. Janie did something like this a couple of years ago. Do you have any nylons nearby?"

"Uh, yeah. I have a couple in my closet.. why do you ask?"

"Get one and the vacuum cleaner. Let one of the legs be sucked up by it. Then you use that to clean up all the beads. If you turn the vacuum cleaner off, al the beads will be in the nylon. And all you'll have to do is sort them out."

"Thank you so much, Alexx."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Now, if you excuse me, I have your husband an a dead body waiting for me."

Calleigh chuckled "Have fun. Bye."

"Bye"

'Okay, first things first. Where did I put that vacuum cleaner...'

OoOoO

Calleigh was standing in the kitchen making dinner when she heard the Hummer pull up in front of the garage.

Caleb, who was playing basketball in front of it greeted his father. "Hi dad!"

"Hi Caleb," He reached down and picked up his jacket, "How was your day?"

"It was okay, I played with Jason for a while and we went to the park and climbed on the monkey bars for a while"

"That's nice son, why don't you tell me all about it over dinner?"

"Will do dad."

Horatio put his briefcase down while trying to fish his keys out of his pocket. When he finally found them, he opened the door, only to be greeted by a very entousiastic dog. "Hey, Hamlet. Are you happy to see me, boy?"

When the dog jupmed on him, trying to lick his face he grinned. "I guess that's a 'yes', isn;t it."

Petting the dog once more, he hung his jacket on a hook, put his briefcase down and walked towards the kitchen. Arriving in the doorway he saw his wife standing a the counter, apperantly prepairing dinner. He walked closer to her, stood behind her and his armes around her waist from behind. "Hey Beautiful"

Even after almost 13 years of marriage, Calleigh never got tired of hearing that. "Hey Handsome" She turned herself in his arms and reached up to kiss him lightly. 'Just like I never get tired of that.'

"So, you got him?" She asked

"We got him." Horatio confermed.

"Good." She nodded, and turned around again to resume working on dinner.

Horatio stepped back and leaned against the table, watching her.

"So, any messages for me?"

"Krista said she'll needs your help tomorrow while going over some old cases, because you were the ... CSI on those cases. There was a call from the CSI office in New Orleans because they needed your expertise. I told them you'll call back first thing tomorrow. Allen said you needed to fill in some forms, they're on my desk. Oh, and Valera asked me to tell you she decided on a date for her babyshower. She will fill you in on the details herself tomorrow. I think that's it." He rubbed his temples.  
Calleigh smiled as she heard that the lab just couldn't deal without her again, but it quickly turned into a frown when she looked up into her husbands face. "Hey, you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I just had this annoying headache half the day. I took some asprin, but they don't seem to work." He sighed.

"I think I know a way to make it go away." Calleigh said in a seductive tone.

Horatio looked to the smiling face of his wife, "You think you do?" he said while he wrapped his armes aroung her waist and pulled her close.

"Oh, I think I do," She wrapped her hand around his neck & kissed him.

Just as thing started to heat up a little, a voice sounded from the doorway.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiuw!"

Both turned to the source of the sound, but the only thing they saw was a blur of strawberry-blond hair running around the corner. They could, however, hear their daughter cry out to her brother.

"GROSS! CALEB, THEY'RE KISSING AGAIN!"

Giggling Calleigh layed her head against her husbands chest, "Don't you just love they joy of children?"

Horatio groaned and said **"Just hand me the aspirin"**

  
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**  
A/N 3:** So.. Loved it? Hate it? Let me know.. Review please.  
**A/N 4:** You know, that thing Calleigh did. With the beads and the pins. You know what I mean. I did that too. I know, I know: STUPID! Check my site for my story.. :P

Uploaded on 17-April-2005  
© The Fiction Spider


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